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LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Train arrangements iv connection with the Geraldine raoes on September 26 and 27, are advertised ,

Queen Viotoria is the riohest woman m the British Kingdom. Sbe has aooumulated a fortune of £4,000,000.

Dr Peyraud, of Vinoby, claims to be able to oure hydrophobia by injecting a virus obtained from a herb called tansy.

Under the soeptre of the Czar of Russia live 38 different nationalities, eaoh speaking m its own language, whioh is foreign to all others.

The Court of Pope Leo is said to oompriae 1160 persons, nearly five hundred bearing the title of chamberlain. He has twenty private secretaries ia his employ.

It is a singular illustration of the mutations of time that Millet's widow should be living m extreme poverty while a single one of hie numerous paintings sells for £22,000.

The visit of the Shah of jPereja to England reoalls the faot that no Persian monaroh ever had grey hair. Grey hair is by universal custom prohibited m Persia and is never seen.

The South Australian" Curator of Forests has during the last season had pl»" ta(i ° ut about 1,p0p,000 of trees. Tho thinnings oi* old plantations have supplied from 200.000 to 300,000 railway sleepers.

Joseph Blore, the first lunatio committed m the provincial district of Canterbury, died on Tuesday after being an inmate of the lunatio asnlqm since 1857. The cause of death was senile decay.

It is a pretty inoident m the love making of Lord Fife and the Princess Louiee, that she, for the last three years, has alwayß bought for him a birthday present, but eaoh year has been too bashful to give it to him.

A novel idea m oburoh building has been started m the neighborhood of Dawlisb, where it is proposed to raise funds for a new obureh by debentures bearing interest at 4 per oent. scoured as a first charge on the offertories.

The colporteurs m Ceylon have sold nearly twioe as many Bibles as last year, more than seven times as many Testament?', and almoßt twioe as many portions of Scriptures.

At a vestry meeting of St Andrew's Churoh, Tinwald, the prooeeds of the sooial gathering were found very satisfactory. Hearty votes of thanks were aooorded to all who had assisted to make it a suooe?s. especially to the ladies who came from a distanoe, and to Mrs Clark for her piano.

A meeting of the South Rakaia Lioensing Committee was held m the Town Hall on Friday. Present: — Messrs Lyttelton (ohairman), W. L. Allan and D. G. Holmes. The only business was tbe confirmation of a transfer of a Hoense of the Chertsey Hotel from Emily Mitchell to A. O. P. Koyvett.

The four principal hospitals of the oolony oonsume 44,530 gallons of milk actually, and 147,934 eggs, the former being supplied, m Auokland at 6d per gallon, Ohrißtohuroh and Dunedin sd. Wellington 9d. Although an " egg is an egg," the prices vary thus per dozan, Auokland ll£d, Ohristohuroh la Id, Dunedin la, Wellington Is 2d.

Says the •• Herald " :— lt ooßts 3a 6d per bale to send a bale of wool over 500 mileß from a run m New South Wales by rail to Sydney. In New Zealand it costs 9s 5d for 200 miles and Jd per mile for every additional mile. Consequently to send a bale of wool 500 miles by rail m New South Wales costs 3s 6d ; m New Zealand it costs 15s Bd,

It is 50 years this month and the beginning ot next month sinoe the late New Zealand Company despatched the first five ships from Great Britain to these shores, laden with living freights, to found an Empire m the Southern Ooean. The vessels were — Aurora, 142 passengers; Adelaide, 176 passengers; Oriential, 151 passengers ; Duke of Roxburgh, 167 paesengerß; Bengal Merchant, 161 passengers. There has just been a competition among the stenographers m Amerioa to deoide how many words oan be written on a post oard, and Sylvanus Jones, of Richmond, Va., has taken tbe prize whioh was offered for the largest number of words by writing upon a oard 36,784 words. Mr Jones is a shorthand writer employed by tho Brighthope Railway Company of Riohmond.

The "Lyttelton Times" says that the excursionists who went to Little River on Thursday were witnesses of an extraordinary faot m natural history. The train when near Lake Forsyth passed (or three-quarters oi a mile close aloneside what was desoribed as a wall of moequitoeß or midges. This wall was about twenty feet high and eighteen inohes thiok, and must have contained millions of the little inseots. Probably the bright and warm sunehine of the forenoon oaused this enormous swarm to spring into life* L. Randall, the mountain evangelist of West Virginia, some years ago went over the State painting texts on rooks and walls. He decorated all sorts of places with the text. " What shall Ido to be saved ? " A patent medioine man came along later and painted just below this wherever he oould find it, "Use Blank's oure for consumption." The quaint combination got into the papers, and Randall, seeing it, went baok over hia route with his paint pot and added below the text, 11 And prepare to meet tby God 1 ' A correspondent, evidently m the exuberanoe of his joy at having indited something thrt may deoide the election for Oamaru (writes the " North Otago Times ") forgets to enolose his epistle, but instead sends us an unreceipted washing bill, with a requeßt that we- will give it early insertion. We deoline to do so, as much m the interests of our correspondent as of our readers. We would, however, advise him to pay the washing bill, and after he has relieved his mind of that weight he oan forward his letter, aud if it is written m a reasonable spirit we will endeavor to fiud room for it.

A letter from Johnstown states that when the obapel of the Episcopal Methodists was being cleared oi tho aooumulated rubbish the bodies of a man and woman were found looked m eaoh others arms. Owing to the rigidity of death it was impossible to separate them, and they were consigned to the grave as they were found. They were a young couple who had been married m the obapel, and tbe ceremony was near the end when the water oame m. The minister and the witnesses, it is stated, eso&ped.

In regard to the reoent enquiry by a oom* mission of the Board of Eduoationinto certain ocupplajots brougbtagainstthe Eohoolmaster at May field, the Sohool Committee have lep.ived the following letter from the Board : — " After hearing the results of the reoent enquiry the Board is of opinion that the matters complained of are suoh as should have been brought before the Committee and dealt with at the time they oocurred, and that it aannot take any aotion respecting them. B|ut the Board thinks it not advisable, m tbe ioj^erests of tbe distriot, tbat tho master should retain bis present appointment and recommends him to take the oar'.iest possible opportunity of obtaiuiDg a Bohgol elsewhere."

At the R.M. Court, South Bakaia, on Friday, before Meesrs L. Oxley, D. G, Holmes, and W. L. Allan, two youths, A. Street and T. Bradiog were admonished and fined, including costs, £1 63 63 eaoh for stone throwing to the annoyance .of one J. McLean m the township. Two smaller boys, Q. Murray and G. Bryand, were charged with breaking windows at the public sohool, damage being done to the extend of 16,3. Both pleaded guilty. The Benoh admonished the aooused, calling attention to the numerous complaints made lately about larrikinism. The parents were advised to keep a better lock out after their children, An order was made for the payment of the amount of the damage done, and the aooused were fined 5s eaoh and costs, m all 17s 63 eaoh.

One adventure of Botteaini's should be remembered. He was playing one night at Antwerp, and there was a full room and considerable curiosity for his turn to begin. He took his plaoe beside his oolosaal double bass, and commenced his variations. The public were eleotrified— and bo was the player. No one who knows the double bass oould say of the instrument' that it was squeaky and shrieky. It has iW fautfs, but at least shrillness is not one of them. The sounds oame forth that evening piercing and pathetic. The player looked terrified ; his instrument Beemed betwitohed, and the sounds continued even when the bow was not drawn aorosa the strings. For a moment Bottesini faltered, and then, plunging his hand into the internal pavities of hia big instrument, he drew it back Very hurriedly. He introduced it again very oaretully, and took out and held up to the room a oat. The entertainment did not en d there. There were kittens to follow.

We oall the attention of member*? of the Ashburton Oyoling Club to an advertisement m this issue respecting the forthcoming series of road races viz five, ten, and twenty-five miles. The five mile raoe is to be run on Wednesday next, starting from Mrs Brown's gate, Wakanui, at 3 o'olook sharp, and proceeding thonce along the Beaoh Road, up Moore Street, along East Street; and finishing at tbo Post Office. Mr A, Harrison will ofiaeiate as Judge, Mr Mnller as time-keeper, and MrD. r Millor as starter. We hear that some of the old wheelmen are again on the path, but as there has been a large acquisition of members this season we hope the new men will show their mettle and strive to carry off the laurels of an event whioh promises to bo well contested. Ashburton is well adapted for this kind of rooreotian and wo expect to see some of our looal youngsters dfalißguisbiDg themselves this season.

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